I like to think that I’ve a fairly amicable relationship with my father. He visits regularly, and we go out for dinner to discuss the goings-on in our lives. He’s aware of every up or down I’ve ever experienced in my career as a freelancer, every noteworthy event and proud accomplishment. He’s also aware that I’m something of an insomniac. I believe I’ve discussed this before, and mentioned that I actually don’t recall the last time I got a good night’s sleep.
One suggestion he offered was that I shut down all electronics immediately at midnight, bar none. No computer activity whatsoever after the moon hits its zenith. This, he suggested, might actually force my body into a proper sleep schedule. Sadly, it’s not as easy as that for me (I sincerely wish it were). At the same time, I realized he did have a point.
I’m hardly the only one these days who doesn’t practice proper sleeping habits. I also doubt I’m the only person who’s stayed up just a bit too late wandering the depths of the Internet. For those among you who have difficulty sleeping, I’ve a question I’d like you to consider: could it be your monitor’s fault?
See, the strange, bluish-tinted light emitted by most monitors on the market is great when you’re working on your PC during the day. When night falls, it’s an entirely different matter. This harsh light, in addition to its high likelihood of causing severe eye strain, tends to completely deep-six the natural ‘sense’ that our bodies have regarding what time of day it is. Even if the moon is high in the sky outside, we see the bright blue of our monitors and subconsciously think “well, it’s still day time. No sleeping quite yet.”
Now, the obvious solution to this little quandary was to put the same strictures on computer use as you’d put on caffeine or sugar. Regardless of how much you might crave it, everything gets shut down after 8. For most of us, this isn’t exactly an economical solution. For most of us, we need some other means of securing a good night’s rest.
F.lux might well be the answer to that. It’s a simple application, easy to install and even easier to use. Once you’ve downloaded it, the app will use the Internet to figure out what time zone you’re in. Next up, you need to tell it what sort of lighting you’ve got installed. That’s pretty much it. Once it’s gotten all the information it needs, it’ll act on its own, changing the tint of your screen based on the time. During daylight hours, your monitors will retain their typical blue-white luster. As the sun drops below the horizon, however, the app will slowly and ever-so-subtly shift your screen to a much softer, reddish-orange tint.
Now, instead of being blinded by the light deep into the night, your screen will be at the same comfortable hue as the lighting around you. Not only could this serve to drastically reduce eye-strain (a constant problem for today’s consistently-wired world), it’s also got the potential to drastically improve your sleep habits.
F.lux is available here as a free download. I’d recommend you all give it a try. After all, what do you have to lose?
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